Traditional and Personal Elements in Aristotle's Religion

Abstract

THERE is a special reason why Aristotle deserves a place on the programme of this congress. Our general theme, Tradition and Personal Achievement, may be interpreted in two different ways. We may try to determine the proportion of these two factors in the works of the ancients. This proportion shows a large scale of variations, from the predominance of the traditional element to the predominance of the personal element. But there is also another scale of variations, which extends from unconscious adoption of traditional views to conscious criticism. is from this point of view I will discuss some ideas of Aristotle. Criticism of traditional views is to be found in the works of most of the Greek thinkers, including the work of Aristotle. But what distinguishes his attitude towards tradition from of his predecessors is the fact he seems to be the first to take up a definite position with regard to tradition as a whole.' Other thinkers had confined their attention to special elements of tradition, such as some theory or some popular belief which conflicted with their own view, but they did not reflect on the value of tradition as such. was Aristotle who discovered tradition, i.e. who realized tradition as such, irrespective of its special contents, confronts us with a problem. This problem is, whether tradition has a value simply because it is tradition. Aristotle attached a value to tradition as such, because in his opinion tradition embodies a real experience.2 He argues we must consider a problem not only from a scientific point of view but also in the light of current opinions: with a true view all the data harmonize. 3 Without any comment he replaces the expression 'ra'. ey0'Levm by rak irmpxov'r, and he could do so, because he seriously believed current opinion always expresses some real fact. It is impossible, he writes, that the views held by many nmen and men of old should be entirely mistaken.' Aristotle does not put the question why the current view is likely to be right. An indirect answer to this question may be deduced from the combination of three other passages: Men have a sufficient natural instinct for what is true, and usually do arrive at the truth, Every man has some contribution to make to the truth, There is this to be said for the Many. Each of them by himself may not be of a good